Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Strawberry and Buffalo Ricotta Muffins

This recipe all begins with the ricotta - in this case beautifully fresh Buffalo Ricotta from one of my favourite cheese spots around town, La Latteria

When I popped in, I already had in mind that I'd be buying some more of their regular cows milk ricotta but when I spied these pure white hand pressed baskets of buffalo ricotta, well, the rest was history.

Tastewise, it has a bit more flavour, I've read that some say it's more savoury but I just think you get a richer feel in your mouth.

The first thing I've decided to make with this ricotta are muffins and here I've combined it with almost the last of the local Strawberries. I'm finding that at this time of year, the flavour can be lacking so by teaming them with ricotta this should boost their appeal and create an almost strawberry and cream feel.

Sift the flour, baking powder and sugar into a bowl - make a well in the centre.

Lightly whisk together the milk and eggs and pour this into the dry ingredients, followed by the cooled, melted butter.

Stir until combined and them tumble in the strawberries, crumble in about a quarter of the ricotta and then fold this gently through so the strawberries just disperse through the batter and the ricotta doesn't break up too much.

Fill your muffin cases about half way, top with a rough piece of ricotta and then cover with more batter.

Bake in a preheated 170°C oven until golden and cooked through - about 20-30 minutes.

Cool slightly in the pan before moving on a wire rack to cool completely.

Because of the large pieces of ricotta and strawberries within the muffin you'll find that the surface will crack but I just think that adds to their character.

oh, Haalo, I should have seen this recipe before...last week had plenty of delicious buffalo ricotta from Puglia (South Italy), a nice gift from a dear friend of us!Well, we had pasta in different ways, we had it plain with honey but next time we'll surely have your muffins!